How to Navigate and Contribute to the New Python Insider Blog

By ● min read

Introduction

Welcome to the new home of the Python Insider Blog! We've moved from Blogger to a modern, open-source platform that makes it easier than ever to read, share, and contribute to official Python news. All 307 existing posts have been migrated, old URLs automatically redirect, and your RSS feed should update seamlessly. This step-by-step guide will walk you through everything you need to know—from updating your bookmarks to writing your first post using the new Git-based workflow.

What You Need

• A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
• A GitHub account (free) if you want to contribute posts
• A text editor (VS Code, Sublime, or even Notepad) for editing Markdown
• Optionally, an RSS reader (Feedly, Inoreader, etc.) to stay updated
• Basic familiarity with Git and pull requests (helpful but not required)

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Update Your Bookmarks and Browser Links

The blog now lives at https://blog.python.org. Replace any old bookmarks you had pointing to the Blogger version. If you visit an old URL (e.g., from a previous post), it will automatically redirect to the equivalent page on the new site. No 404s to worry about!

Step 2: Refresh Your RSS Feed Reader

Your existing RSS feed subscription should automatically switch over, but to be safe, update it to the new feed URL: https://blog.python.org/rss.xml. If you use a service like Feedly, simply search for “Python Insider” and re-subscribe. The new feed includes all migrated posts plus future ones.

Step 3: Explore the New Site

Take a moment to click around. The site is built with Astro and deployed as fully static HTML—so pages load fast. Styling uses Tailwind CSS. You’ll notice categories like releases, sprints, governance updates, and more. Use the search bar to find topics quickly. If you spot any broken links or missing images from the migration, check our tips at the end.

Step 4: Understand How Contributions Work

Contributing is now much simpler. Instead of needing a Google account and logging into Blogger, all posts are plain Markdown files in a Git repository. If you can open a pull request (PR), you can write a post. The repository is at https://github.com/python/python-insider-blog. Posts live under content/posts/{slug}/index.md with YAML frontmatter for title, date, authors, and tags. Images go right in the same directory as the post.

Step 5: Fork and Clone the Repository

1. Visit the GitHub repository and click the Fork button (top-right).
2. Clone your forked repo to your local machine:
   git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/python-insider-blog.git
3. Create a new branch for your post:
   git checkout -b my-new-post

Step 6: Write Your Post

1. Create a new directory under content/posts/ with a short, descriptive slug (e.g., python-3-13-release).
2. Inside that directory, create a file named index.md.
3. Add YAML frontmatter at the top. Example:
   

   ---
   title: "Python 3.13 Released"
   date: 2025-07-01
   authors:
     - guido
     - raymond
   tags:
     - release
     - cpython
   ---
   

4. Below the frontmatter, write your post in Markdown. You can include images by placing them in the same directory and referencing them with relative paths like ![screenshot](image.png).
5. Save your file. No special tooling required—just a text editor!

Step 7: Submit a Pull Request

1. Add and commit your changes:
   git add content/posts/my-new-post/
git commit -m "Add post about Python 3.13"
2. Push your branch to your fork:
   git push origin my-new-post
3. Go to your fork on GitHub and click the Compare & pull request button.
4. Give your PR a clear title and description. The core team will review it and merge once it’s ready.

Step 8: (Optional) Preview Your Post Locally

If you want to see how your post will look before submitting, you can run the site locally. The repo README has detailed instructions, but the quick version: make sure you have Node.js installed, run npm install, then npm run dev. The site will start at http://localhost:4321. Alternatively, you can use the Keystatic CMS in dev mode for a visual editor—just run npx keystatic dev from the repo root. This is entirely optional; raw Markdown works perfectly.

Tips and Troubleshooting

• Broken links or missing images? Report them by filing an issue on the repository. We welcome pull requests to fix any migration glitches.
• Read the README in the repo for detailed information about frontmatter fields, local development setup, and the deployment process (GitHub Actions builds and deploys automatically).
• Contributing ideas are welcome for Python releases, core sprints, governance updates, or anything else relevant to the Python community. Just follow the steps above.
• Bookmark the new site and share the feed URL with colleagues to ensure they don’t miss future updates.
• If you encounter any issues with the RSS feed, double-check the URL: https://blog.python.org/rss.xml. It may take a few hours for your reader to update.